A note from Caitlin:
I'm going to get a little bit vulnerable with this week's topic - the concept in the dance industry that everyone is replaceable.
The phrase “Everyone’s replaceable” is easily one of my least favorite sayings in the dance world.
It’s thrown around far too much in our industry and seen by some as a motivator to keep dancers on their toes. In my experience, it’s a scare tactic used to intimidate and belittle dancers, conditioning them to settling for subpar working conditions and toxic environments out of fear.
When I spoke out about my feelings on this topic a few months back, I was met with a decent amount of resistance from some fellow dance educators. I truly believe that all of these educators meant well, and some very insightful conversations were brought to light. Ultimately, we all want to prepare our dancers for the realities of a professional career, and this includes sharing the hard truths of our industry.
But words matter. And I know there are better ways to motivate and hold dancers accountable to achieving excellence than by continuing to throw around the same hurtful phrases we heard as young dancers.
I knew we needed to continue this discussion, but I didn’t feel like I had the resources to do it alone.
So I reached out to my friends at Danscend. Danscend was born out of the desire to open the doors of the dance studios and begin to foster conversations that will create future generations of healthy dancers and dance educators – inside and out. I just knew they would know the right thing to say…and they totally delivered.
Please enjoy our very first guest blog post from Danscend co-founder, Michelle Loucadoux!
I was dancing in the ensemble of my first Broadway show when I heard the phrase. “Everyone is replaceable.” It struck me like the bolt of projected lightning on the upstage scrim. I’m not special.
Decades later, I realize this is a lie.
At the time, though, I mentally chewed on this piece of information as I finished my pin curls and headed to the wig room. It’s true. If I broke my leg, they could just hire someone else, teach them the show, and nobody would know the difference. What a defeating thought. But, I told myself, it’s still true.
Now, I have a very different opinion on the idea that everyone is replaceable. My opinion is rooted in fact, it’s backed up by my master’s degree in business, and it definitely wasn’t uttered by a jealous, hungry, rage-filled aging chorine.
Here’s what I believe to be the truth: Yes, everyone can be replaced in their position. But everyone is not replaceable.
Replacing a person often comes at such a huge cost to an organization that sometimes people are kept in positions far longer than they should. See, everyone brings their own attributes to the table. Some of those attributes can be replaced. Some cannot. But replacing them always comes at a price.
The price of replacing people
Yes, people can be replaced. But, things are never, ever the same after the replacement is made. You are special specifically because you are…you. A director or choreographer might be able to replace you with someone else, but that someone else will never perform in the specific way you did. Here is a list of just some of the things you bring to the table in any position (or job!):
The skills you have acquired in your life that apply to the tasks at hand
The knowledge you have gained through your life’s experiences
The relationships you have with the people you work or perform with
The relationships you have with individuals outside the organization
The knowledge you have of the role or job you are currently performing
The passion and drive you have to improve and/or learn
Your inimitable personality
In my case, in this specific Broadway show, I played a ridiculously silly character. The goofy way I interpreted my choreography would never look the same on someone else. I also happen to be equally as skilled in ballet as I am at musical theatre dance. This set of skills helped me perform my job in a way my replacement probably did not. I was also besties with my dance partner which made for some fun onstage moments — something that likely wouldn’t be replicated by my replacement as well.
These are all the intangible costs. But, there would be other costs to replace my “track” in the show as well. The wardrobe department would have to be paid to alter my costumes for my replacement, the dance captain would have to show up for additional rehearsals to teach choreography to my replacement, the casting director would have to be paid to hold an audition for my replacement, and programs would need to be reprinted with updated cast lists.
You get the idea. Replacing a dancer, any dancer, comes at a cost. And, the more experience someone has, the more difficult it is to replace them. And the more costly.
How to discover your irreplaceability
It was easy to go down the rabbit hole I went down when I first heard that phrase. But the truth is, we are all special. That is what makes humanity so interesting. Understanding your own unique qualities can help you understand that, while you could be replaced, you are definitely not replaceable.
Here are some journaling prompts to help you understand your own uniqueness in the world…and the value you bring to every single one of your endeavors.
What are the special talents that other people around you don’t possess?
What relationships do you have in your dance studio or company that are unique?
Are there any past experiences you have had that help you perform in a way others don’t?
What are you passionate about learning that relates to your performance?
What aspects of your personality shine in your performance?
Final thoughts
I wish I could go back and tell twenty-something-dancer-Michelle that she is not replaceable. She is special.
She still is. We all are.
Many of us don’t recognize our worth. We live with ourselves every day, so the special parts of our personalities are not as exciting to us as they are to everyone else. But, when we step away and try to see ourselves from a different perspective, we can hopefully grasp the importance of ourselves in the world. We are all different. And that’s what makes us irreplaceable.
